Easter Sunday

Director - Jeremy Todd Morehead
Starring - Jeremy Todd Morehead, Jason Delgado, and Jon McKoy
Release Date - 2014
Genre - Horror/Comedy
Tagline - "This Easter...Everyone gets eggsecuted"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I have been writing for Horror Society for a little over three years now and there is only a few films that I have waited to review that was just announced when I was first brought on.  The first film was Burn in Hell from teenage director Joshua Bruce who is the son of the pop culturist Robert Bruce who most of you may know from the show Comicbook Men.  The other was Easter Sunday from director and musician Jeremy Todd Morehead.  I am a huge fan of the holiday themed slashers and one centered around this religious holiday really excited me.  I followed this one closely sharing anything and everything I could get my hands on that pertained to the film.  After waiting for what feels like forever, Jeremy and the producer was kind enough to send over a review copy of the film.  Thanks guys for letting me check this one out.

     The film begins with a man going out into his garage to make a paper mache mask of the Easter Bunny.  He then goes inside his home and murders his wife and daughter before Sheriff Arkin (Z'Dar) is able to put him down.  We jump several years and now the man has became an urban legend among town.  A local band is having band practice and a party after when one of them breaks out a Ouija board.  Before doing so they learn that one of their band mates, Ryan Tate, is actually the son of that maniac.  They go on with the seance and Ryan starts acting weird.  He freaks his girlfriend out and she leaves him forcing him to crash on his friend Jeremiah's (Morehead) couch for the night.  Jeremiah wakes up to Ryan stealing his car and talking funny.  He jumps in to the car and the two drive out into the middle of the field where Ryan digs up his father's mask.  Now Ryan is possessed by his father and starts a killing spree putting his band in the middle of the carnage.  

     I love horror comedies.  In fact, they are my favorite horror films.  I love laughing at a cheap or crude joke before I'm covered in blood.  That is why films like Dead Alive are so fun.  They catch you off guard with a laugh before sending in the gore.  I knew Easter Sunday was a horror comedy but I had no idea it was going to be as insane as it was.  The acting in this one is very b-movie inspired.  The characters go two different ways.  They are either overly-serious which brings the mood down of the film or they are very animated and goofy.  The two almost clash in some of the scenes.  The cast all lack experience in front of the camera with the exception of a few horror legends that make cameo appearances.  The more serious characters are well acted and portrayed but they clash with the cartoon-like characters.  Morehead was hilarious and very out there with his performance but his high pitched voice did start to dig at me as the film progressed.  The same can be said for the killer.  Jason Delgado was great as the possessed serial killer but the voice and one liners got old very quick.  The story for this one is one we have seen so many times before but this one has a Chris Seaver/Troma look to it.  There has been several supernatural slashers over the years where people were possessed and started slashing their friends.  This can be seen in Jason Goes to Hell and several shorts from the mind of Steve Rudzinski where people that put on a mask is possessed by the spirit of the killer.  The fact that the killer is brought back into this plane of existence by an Ouija board makes it even more unoriginal.  With that being said, the story was still funny once the no budget humor was added along with the zany characters and great kills.  Finally, the film has several great on screen kills that were very entertaining and a few that were not.  Some of the kills had some great practical effects that reminded me a lot of the slasher films of the 80s along with some used by director Chris Seaver in his S.O.V. parody films of Warlock Home Video.  These kills were great and really hit the spot after watching so many indie flicks that missed out on the kills.  Sadly, there was some of the kills that just did not belong.  This kills were all CGI or visual effects and they brought the film down tremendously.  These should have been left out of the film.  Overall, Easter Casket is one heinously funny film that combines humor with the slashers of yesteryear.  Check it out as soon as you can.